Chicago Bulls

Player News - Bulls

Updating a previous item, Paul Zipser (foot) had surgery in Germany to repair a fracture in his left foot.

He does not have a timetable to return after this injury limited him to finish the season. Zipser's deal is non-guaranteed until July 18, so there's a very good chance he's cut during the free agency period.

No details yet on this one, but Zipser's foot kept him off the court for most of the last month of the season. He likely won't be in the rotation next year, especially with the Bulls likely to grab a frontcourt player in the draft.

John Paxson, the Bulls’ vice president of basketball operations, said that he views Cameron Payne as the team's backup point guard for 2018-19.

"I feel really good about going into next season with Kris Dunn as our starter and Cameron Payne as our backup,’’ Paxson said. "All these young guys have a lot of things to work on and clean up, but Cameron showed a competitiveness to him, an ability to push the ball probably better than any guard we’ve had in a while, and he showed a defensive edge to him that will help us going forward.’’ The Bulls traded away valuable assets for Payne, so they'll give him one more year to prove himself. This is bad news for Jerian Grant.

Bulls executive John Paxson said that Chicago plans to let the market dictate the contractual value of restricted free agent Zach Lavine.

The Bulls are in a tricky spot with LaVine. He's just a year removed from ACL surgery and was working his way back into game shape. He flashed tremendous upside at times over the second half of the season, but was also woefully inefficient offensively, shooting just 38.3 percent from the floor. LaVine is reportedly looking for max, or at least near-max money. However, it would be very surprising if he received an offer approaching $100 million.

VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson said Lauri Markkanen became a "foundational piece" this year.

"From my seat he exceeded expectations," Paxson said. "A foundational piece for everything we want to be. We’re lucky." The Bulls front office added their favorite little saying as well in their exit interview. "We're going to be young. We're going to be athletic," Paxson added. The Bulls will continue to use their guards to drive and kick the ball out, but Markkanen also showed he can create on his own. He'll be coming off the board in near pick 50 next year.

Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson said Kris Dunn will return as the starting point guard.

"I feel really good about going into the next season with [Kris] Dunn as our starter and [Cameron] Payne as our backup." There was no mention of third-string PG Jerian Grant. Dunn has his flaws offensively, but his first season in Chicago was a success. He averaged 13.6 points, 6.3 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.1 triples and 2.5 turnovers in 43 starts, and if he improves his shot selection, his jumper and his ball security, Dunn will have a lot of intrigue as a mid-round pick.

Cameron Payne finished Wednesday's home loss with six points on 2-of-9 shooting, nine assists, three rebounds and one steal in 33 minutes.

Payne earned 14 starts with Kris Dunn (toe) out of commission, averaging 9.7 points, 1.6 threes, 5.3 dimes, 3.3 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks. Shooting percentages were an issue and the Bulls still have Dunn and Jerian Grant under contract for next season, which reduces Payne to flier status in deep leagues.

Lauri Markkanen set a Bulls franchise record for 3-pointers made by a rookie (145), en route to finishing Wednesday's game with 20 points, eight boards, three triples and two steals in just 22 minutes.

He passed Kirk Hinrich's previous record, and thanks in part to Markkanen's efforts beyond the arc Chicago also made a franchise-high in 3-pointers this season. With his natural touch and high release, he's going to be a nightmare for opposing big men for years to come. After posting top-75 value as a rookie, he's likely to go in the 40-50 range in his sophomore season.

Sean Kilpatrick started Wednesday's game and finished with 14 points (5-of-10 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), four assists, two 3-pointers and two rebounds in 29 minutes vs. Detroit.

Chicago's season was centered around a rebuild and they've decided to air out Kilpatrick in the final weeks. He's been a scoring machine in April with 19.0 points and 2.8 triples, but would require an ideal situation to be on the draft radar next fall.

Zach LaVine (knee) and Kris Dunn (toe) and Denzel Valentine (knee) were also out of commission, of course, and there was a ton of garbage time for the Bulls' active players. Vonleh is headed into restricted free agency, assuming the Bulls make a qualifying offer, but he won't be drafted no matter where he ends up.

Sean Kilpatrick will replace Justin Holiday in the starting lineup for Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Pistons.

The Bulls will go with a starting five featuring Cameron Payne, Kilpatrick, David Nwaba, Lauri Markkanen and Cristiano Felicio for their final game of the season, and Kilpatrick is on the radar as a potential streamer with how well he's been playing as of late. Holiday will not take the floor in this one, and neither will Robin Lopez.

Coach Fred Hoiberg said that Lauri Markkanen (rest) will play Friday vs. the Pistons.

However, Bulls reporter K.C. Johnson tweeted out that it "sounds like [Markkanen's] already limited minutes could drop a bit though." Markkanen is averaging 24.3 minutes per game over his last four appearances. He's still managed to average 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 treys over those four contests.

Sean Kilpatrick hit 6-of-13 shots and a couple 3-pointers for 16 points, three boards, two steals and a block in 26 minutes off the Bulls bench in Monday's 114-105 loss to the Nets.

Kilpatrick's been playing well for a couple weeks now, had a couple nice games against his former team (the Nets), and is averaging 19 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.8 3-pointers over his last five. He looks like a solid option in Wednesday's meaningless season finale against the Pistons, despite playing for four different NBA teams this season.